15 credits
Level 1
First Term
15 credits
Level 1
First Term
15 credits
Level 1
First Term
15 credits
Level 1
First Term
15 credits
Level 1
Second Term
15 credits
Level 1
Second Term
15 credits
Level 1
Second Term
This course develops key legal research skills by taking students through a research project from initial conception to final written product, including: research design; research ethics; identifying and locating primary sources; interpreting and evaluating primary sources; identifying and locating secondary sources; critically analysing secondary sources; use and interpretation of data, statistics and other (non-legal) evidence; and effective writing. It will teach students the comparative and doctrinal-historical legal methods critical to legal research. Students will develop their own research project throughout the semester in light of this learning, building their project step by step under the guidance of the teaching team.
15 credits
Level 1
Second Term
7.5 credits
Level 1
Second Term
7.5 credits
Level 1
Second Term
10 credits
Level 2
First Term
10 credits
Level 2
Second Term
15 credits
Level 2
First Term
15 credits
Level 2
First Term
15 credits
Level 2
First Term
15 credits
Level 2
First Term
15 credits
Level 2
First Term
The course aims to systematically and critically introduce the foundations of PIL, is taught by teachers with diverse background and expertise in the field. The history, nature, legal persons and how PIL interacts with domestic law are considered in-depth. These are followed by topics such as jurisdiction, sovereignty, role of the United Nations, law of state responsibility and peaceful settlement of disputes between states. Areas such as law of sea, use of force and self-defence are covered to enable students to understand why and how international law regulates the behaviour of its actors with respect to some specific subject areas.
15 credits
Level 2
Second Term
15 credits
Level 2
Second Term
7.5 credits
Level 2
Second Term
7.5 credits
Level 2
Second Term
15 credits
Level 2
Second Term
5 credits
Level 2
Second Term
15 credits
Level 2
Second Term
15 credits
Level 2
Second Term
15 credits
Level 2
Second Term
7.5 credits
Level 2
Second Term
7.5 credits
Level 2
Second Term
15 credits
Level 2
Second Term
15 credits
Level 3
First Term
This course deals with the rules of evidence as they apply in the courtroom. The rules in both criminal and civil cases will be analysed. The legal requirements for leading real evidence, documentary evidence and witness testimony are considered. Topics include: relevancy, the corroboration rule, hearsay evidence, expert evidence, lawyer-client privilege, vulnerable witnesses, confession evidence and search evidence. Debate on the more controversial areas of the subject, such as sexual history evidence and admissibility of previous convictions, is encouraged. The subject is highly topical, controversial and practically important to all lawyers. Assessment is by a mixture of coursework and examination.
15 credits
Level 3
First Term
The course will build upon student's existing knowledge of property law. The course will use the legal issues arising when land is to be commercially developed as a means of teaching a range of topics pertaining to title to land, land registration, the planning system and rights in land. The precise topics selected may vary from year to year.
15 credits
Level 3
First Term
15 credits
Level 3
First Term
15 credits
Level 3
Second Term
15 credits
Level 3
Second Term
15 credits
Level 3
Second Term
The energy industry is a particularly important sector of the economy. Fossil fuel sources provide a state with a source of financial revenue and potential to secure energy supplies. This comes at a cost: health and safety risk or environmental degradation. A regulatory and commercial framework has to be provided to facilitate and control these developments. Alternatives to fossil fuels exist, such as hydropower, wind, solar and nuclear. These are preferable from a climate change perspective but these, too, present legal and regulatory challenges, as does the process of providing a secure and affordable energy supply to end-point consumers.
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
The course analyses recent developments in public international law. It first considers the sources of public international law. The question is then asked whether traditional public international law can regulate pressing issues on the international plane. Examples of these problems are: international terrorism, nuclear weapons proliferation, protection of human rights, ethnic conflicts, and climate change. The course encourages the student to think creatively as an international lawyer to resolve contemporary international dilemmas. Teaching will be mostly delivered through discussion based seminars. Assessment is based on the drafting of an essay and an exam.
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
Full Year
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
The course examines in detail complex areas of the law of succession and trusts with an emphasis being placed on discursive reasoning. The topics considered will include vesting in an executor and beneficiary, the absence of beneficiaries, the nature and roles of an executor and trustee, survivorship of beneficiaries and common calamities, formal and essential validity of wills (including the issue of execution of wills by adults with incapacity), updating out of date wills by means of the various conditiones applied by Scots law and similar rules in other legal systems, limitations on testamentary freedom, forfeiture and unworthiness of heirs.
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
This course provides students with a knowledge and understanding of certain key points in Scottish legal history. Seminar topics have been chosen to show students how to evaluate primary material as well as to engage with academic debate. Students will also in some seminars engage with research projects based at Aberdeen.
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
The course builds upon the basic understanding of contract law acquired in Contract (LS1520), although it is important to understand that the topics are approached from a more theoretical perspective, and will critically evaluate at an advanced level, a number of themes introduced in LS1520. The course approaches a selection of current problems in contract law doctrine from the theoretical, comparative and philosophical perspectives. The topics will vary annually but will include the philosophical basis of contract law, contractual formation, good faith, promise, contractual remedies, factors vitiating consent, contractual interpretation and risk management through contract (exclusion clauses, penalty clauses etc).
25 credits
Level 4
First Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
Many students will be members of clubs and societies, and will go on to become board members for clubs and charities, or community organisation chairpersons and secretaries. This course is for them.
Scottish Charities are regulated by OSCR. Rights of local communities to acquire land are enshrined in statute. Clubs flourish and community empowerment has been the subject of legislation in the Scottish Parliament. However, private clubs can exclude women members, and the law accepts this. The form of business model available to community organisations may be problematic. The legal status of unincorporated associations is unclear. That’s our topic.
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
The honours conveyancing course examines a selection of issues arising from contemporary property transactions. This will include investigation of the list of real and public rights available in Scots law (the numerus clausus principle) and its possible extension, the identification of how rights are created and transmitted, tenemental property regimes and minerals extraction, boundary disputes and settlement of boundary issues, land registration, real burdens and servitudes, restrictions on the use of land, the use of trusts to emulate real rights, the methods of transmission of property (including missives and electronic conveyancing) and the practical application of conveyancing theory to practice.
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
The course analyses how international law regulates the use of armed force between States. The course will first study the fundamental principle of the prohibition on the use of force between States. It will then examine the current exceptions to this principle, and how States try to justify the use of force. In doing so, the course will study the most recent recourses to force on the international plane, in particular in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. Teaching will mostly be delivered through discussion based seminars. Assessment is based on the drafting of an essay and an exam.
25 credits
Level 4
Second Term
This constitutional law course considers how core political freedoms are protected by human rights law in the UK. The course takes the form of seminar discussion, based on prescribed reading, of civil liberties such as freedom of expression; freedom of thought; freedom to protest; and the right to vote. Students are encouraged to reflect critically on how the law guarantees those rights. The broader context of class discussion includes the relationship between the law of the ECHR and domestic law on human rights; and the balance of power between courts, Parliament and government to determine the scope of civil liberties.
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
The aim of this course is to introduce students to American constitutional law through the study of landmark Supreme Court decisions on controversial moral issues. The material on the course will be organised in relation to broad themes that will enable students to develop and refine their understanding of major issues in American Constitutional Law. The themes include abortion; homosexuality and same-sex marriage; freedom of religion; affirmative action. The course will also help students to familiarise themselves with the main approaches to constitutional interpretation.
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
This course is useful for students who are interested in consolidating their knowledge of Company Law. It covers a wide variety of topics including the nature and function of limited liability, minority shareholder protection, directors’ duties, company contracts and legal capital. There are numerous career opportunities associated with this course.
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
First Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
Many students will be members of clubs and societies, and will go on to become board members for clubs and charities, or community organisation chairpersons and secretaries. This course is for them.
Scottish Charities are regulated by OSCR. Rights of local communities to acquire land are enshrined in statute. Clubs flourish and community empowerment has been the subject of legislation in the Scottish Parliament. However, private clubs can exclude women members, and the law accepts this. The form of business model available to community organisations may be problematic. The legal status of unincorporated associations is unclear. That’s our topic.
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
This course, available only to Honours LLB students, builds upon the introduction to Delict provided in LS2025 and examines a number of aspects of the law of delict in greater detail. Topics will be discussed in a comparative, historical and/or theoretical context. The specific topics covered will vary on a year-by-year basis as the course aims to examine issues of topical interest. Some of the topics covered in previous years include: causation; product liability; liability for breach of privacy; liability for pure economic loss; psychiatric injury; advocates' immunity and the liability of the police for negligently-conducted investigations.
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
30 credits
Level 4
Second Term
We have detected that you are have compatibility mode enabled or are using an old version of Internet Explorer. You either need to switch off compatibility mode for this site or upgrade your browser.
